December 06, 2009

Preckwinkle gets New Trier Democrats' nod in county president race

It's too early to start uncorking the bubbly, but Ald. Toni Preckwinkle today picked up the endorsement of the New Trier Democratic Organization in her bid to become the Democratic nominee for Cook County Board president.

The South Side alderman received 83 percent of the votes. Preckwinkle, along with incumbent Todd Stroger, Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown and Terrence O'Brien, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, made their case for support in the Feb. 2 primary.

Preckwinkle stressed her progressive credentials, saying the county's leadership under Stroger lacked "hard work and vision."

Stroger argued that his stewardship has meant "in four years, we've had four good budgets.".

O'Brien and Brown both assailed Stroger's leadership.

"I believe in new ideas not new taxes," Brown said.

Stroger seemed to know the vote might not go his way.

"I'm not expecting any miracles," Stroger said after the candidates concluded their remarks.

Comments

I must congratulate Toni. She's a focused and intelligent candidate for County Board President. Toni also stated that Cook County have good employees which need to be empowered and rewarded for all our hard work and dedication. Her vision is to reform County Government and provide quality care to the citizens of Cook County. Keep up the good work Toni and best of luck to you.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

Past posts

Clout has a special meaning in Chicago, where it can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This exercise of political influence in a uniquely Chicago style was chronicled in the Tribune cartoon "Clout Street" in the early 1980s. Clout Street, the blog, offers an inside look at the politics practiced from Chicago's City Hall to the Statehouse in Springfield, through the eyes of the Tribune's political and government reporters.